On Playing Dumb & Fragile

Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

—Proverbs 31:31

I think the current cultural messaging that tells women it’s attractive to play dumb and fragile and hope that they’re saved by their beauty is incredibly destructive. And I don’t consider men the only problem. Every woman who plays cute instead of smart, who is known for her body more than for her brains, or who depends on her pout to get what she wants is part of the problem.

If you get what you want by batting your eyelashes, faking fragility, or making the most of your push-up bra, and then you wonder why you’re not taken seriously in your career or given responsibility in your church, I think you may have believed the reigning cultural lie about what makes us attractive.

Let’s set a new example for a generation of young women who are watching us closely. Let’s teach them by our example to be women who work hard, who pay attention to their dreams, who give themselves to making the world a better place, women who believe that there are a whole lot of things more important than being the prettiest princess in the room.